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justme8800 writes "The DSi has a bigger screen, an SD card expansion, a 0.3 megapixel camera, is thinner (no GBA slot), and has improved audio. To be released in Japan on November 1st, everywhere else sometime in 2009."

Some of these details are a bit confused. For example, Nintendo appears to have announced a 300,000 pixel camera (0.3 megapixel), yet it's also being reported as a 3 megapixel camera. Also, there was a report (now believed to be unsubstantiated) that both screens would have touch capability.

What *is* known is that Wii Points will becomes Nintendo Points. Why? Because the DSi will have internal flash memory along with the SD Card slot that can be used to download games (both new and previous gameboy games) from the DS Shop Channel. Just like the Wii. The system also appears to have TWO cameras. One on the inside of the hinge, and one on the front cover. (More evidence that we're talking about a 0.3 megapixel camera capable of 640x480 resolutions.)

Nintendo also announced a Wii storage solution. The Wii Shop Channel will have the option to download directly to an SD Card. A player will then be able to use an "easy copy to the Wii's main memory" to play the game. It's not clear if Iwata meant the Wii would use some of its flash memory as cache, or if you really have to do the copy yourself.

The DSi will be priced in Japan at 18,900 Yen. Which is approximately $180. The DS Lite sells in Japan for ~$150, so that should give some clue to its likely American price.

Nintendo also announced new games in the form of Punch Out for the Wii, Sin and Punishment 2 for the Wii, Mario and Luigi 3 for the DSi, and Trace Memory for the DSi. They are also going to be "refreshing" the GameCube line (e.g. Pikmin and DK Jungle Beat) and re-releasing them for the Wii. I'm not sure what that's supposed to accomplish, but whatever.

Nintendo of America will hold its own press conference at 12:30 PM EDT.

Hopefully we'll get a few clarifications at NOA's press conference.

BTW, if you want to see videos of Nintendo's new stuff go here [nintendo.co.jp] and scroll down to the box that says "Nintendo Conference". Inside that box are two large buttons. One is a video for the Wii, one is a video for the DSi.

They are also going to be "refreshing" the GameCube line (e.g. Pikmin and DK Jungle Beat) and re-releasing them for the Wii. I'm not sure what that's supposed to accomplish

Even if it's not an actual sequel, consider the case of Capcom's Resident Evil 4. It was ported from GameCube to PS2 to Wii, with enhancements each time. Or consider the first Animal Crossing game, which was ported from N64 (as Doubutsu no Mori) to GameCube (NTSC J, as Doubutsu no Mori +) to GameCube (NTSC U/C, as Animal Crossing | Population: Growing!) and back to GameCube (NTSC J, as Doubutsu no Mori e+), again with enhancements in each edition.

There are GameCube games I would like to play (Wind Walker), but I don't really want to buy GameCube accessories to do it... and it takes effort to find that stuff anyways. This should also somewhat mitigate the rather poor lineup of upcoming games on the Wii.

The only accessories you need are a GameCube controller and a save card. Both can be found at your local GameStop for less than $10. Along with plenty of used GameCube games.

I imagine what this is really about is giving some games a second chance to shine. The GameCube wasn't exactly Nintendo's most popular system. And some of their best games (e.g. DK Jungle Beat) were sold in a fire sale because Nintendo needed to shift gears to a new strategy. (I got Jungle Beat + 2 bongos NEW for $14!) By reintroducing these games, they're pushing them out to millions of customers who never got the chance to play them when the GameCube was still supported. The advantage to re-releasing them as Wii titles rather than GameCube titles that work with the Wii is that Nintendo can distance themselves from the failure of the 'Cube.

What really strikes me as odd about the DSi is Nintendo's announcement that this will constitute a "Third Platform", not replacing the DS Lite but complementing it. How many markets are there for dual screen handhelds with one touchscreen by Nintendo? Especially since the DSi appears to be such an incremental upgrade over the DS Lite.

For example, Nintendo appears to have announced a 300,000 pixel camera (0.3 megapixel), yet it's also being reported as a 3 megapixel camera.

I'm sure we'll find out shortly, but I wouldn't be surprised to find that both figures are accurate.The pics indicate that it has two cameras (one on the outside of the clamshell and the inside camera the middle of the hinge facing the user. My guess is that the low resolution is on the inside to facilitate stuff like video-enabled chat.

I'm not sure if M&L and Trace Memory will be DSi only. However, this does appear to be a generational update. Ninty hasn't released hardware specs, but it seems clear that the DSi will have a beefier CPU and GPU than its predecessor. Combined with the new hardware functionality, this is going to be a generational update.

On second thought, if they intend to use the hinge camera for video chat, they probably made the wifi a lot stronger. The current wifi is ridiculously slow, at least gauged through homebrew software downloads which maxed out around 30kbps for me.

It could work like the Gameboy Color did- it plays the old games (Pokemon Red/Blue), some games can choose to use its additional features while remaining backwards compatable (Gold/Silver), and there may be a few games that will only run on it (Crystal I think, a random Disney game or two, etc.).

Guitar Hero doesn't run on DSi. Nor does anything beyond the first third of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (after you get the national Pokédex). And there's speculation on forum.gbadev.org that Nintendo might have used this as a chance to beef up the security against homebrew through a combination of digitally signing new DS titles and whitelisting old titles.

I think Nintendo is marketing the DSi as the "On-The-Go" DS that you don't monkey with peripherals, just throw it in your manpurse/laptop bag/purse and off you go, ready to whip it out for light gaming and to social network with your friends, etc., and replace your mp3 player and cell phone camera.

The Lite & original DS will be the "At-Home" DS where you can attach the menagerie of peripherals and such, and play with your huge library of DS and GBA games handy.

Losing the GBA slot is unfortunate, there were a lot of really good GBA titles that are still fun to play now.

In all likelihood Nintendo realizes this, and will re-package the old GBA titles on DS media form factor, and re-sell us the same games again, like they have with the Virtual Console on the Wii.

This makes total financial sense, but it's too bad. I can't think of any way as a consumer to act in a way that would give the incentive to Nintendo to retain backward compatibility so that I don't have to re-buy games I've already played. If we all don't re-buy, Nintendo would just not re-package to re-sell, rather than retain backward compatibility.

It seems like console makers have some incentive to provide backward compatibility during the intro period when they are transitioning from the old platform to the new, but once the new platform is entrenched they drop backward compatibility to cut costs/up profits.

GBA support isn't the real problem. The real problem is that the GBA slot was the DS's expansion port. Games like Guitar Hero: World Tour plugged hardware into that port. Without the port, these games will not work on the new DS. Even if the software is otherwise compatible.

Of which 2 or 3 games, one of which being the DS browser (now built into the system) used that exp. port. The exp. port-less system won't be sold in the US in quantity until 2009 so they still have another christmas' worth of DSes to be sold with the expansion port. Shrinking market? Perhaps, but that's 5 months from now and most of those DSes will continue to work for another year or two.

This makes total financial sense, but it's too bad. I can't think of any way as a consumer to act in a way that would give the incentive to Nintendo to retain backward compatibility so that I don't have to re-buy games I've already played.

How about if you want to play the old games, pick up a few old instances of the old hardware? Used versions are dirt cheap? Personally, I'm willing to re-buy certain titles just for the convenience of not storing physical cartridge/game systems...

That works, as long as old hardware continues to be common. Over time, hardware will age and become more and more difficult to find in good repair.

With portable systems, the other problem is choosing which you carry with you. If I want a quick/convenient game, most likely I'm not going to haul a GBA and a DS around with me, I'm going to choose whichever one I think I'll enjoy more.

At home, I can just pull out whichever I have, sure, but part of the point of handheld systems is portability.

The main reason for the removal of the GBA slot is likely the removal of the ARM7 for replacing with a simpler, less expensive hardware that does the same (DS has both ARM9 and ARM7. DS games run on ARM9 while ARM7 can't be accessed by the developer -runs custom nitnendo code-, and GBA games run on ARM7). I think DS was engineered from the begining for this to happen.

This will mainly impact homebrew developers, as homebrew will not run on DSi.

I see no reason to pick this one up if they remove the GBA slot. One of the more popular features of the Nintendo handhelds is the backwards compatibility. The ability to only have to carry one device to play all my games was a nice feature. Also, there are several DS games that can have extra features unlocked or data transferred from GBA carts. Obviously, this kills that bonus as well. As much as I would really like to have the better wireless features, I will just have to make do.

I just picked up a used ds lite with 3 games for $100. That should hold me for a while. I like that I can play GBA games on it - wouldn't want to give that up to be honest. The camera and music don't matter - I have other devices for that. The wireless store is cool - but not enough for me to shell out a bunch of money again. I'll probably end up getting a used DSi somewhere down the road I guess.I'm more interested in seeing what happens with Apple. I keep seeing articles saying the ipod touc

I for one thought it was interesting that while Nintendo kept bringing out new home systems with approximately zero ability to play titles from earlier systems, they kept the ability to play old game boy games for years and years as they brought out new systems. If the GBA slot is gone, does that mean that now Nintendo no long feels it worthwhile to maintain the ability to play old titles?

Presumably this is what the "Nintendo Store" is for. Instead of letting you play your old cartridges, Nintendo will charge you $5 or $10 and let you download them.

I have a Wii and a DS and I really enjoy both, especially with a CycloDS to play my MP3s and videos. I'm not interested in the DiiS, er, DSi, and I don't really go in for the "Virtual Console" on my Wii, but I see how this new handheld brings Nintendo's portables in line with its Wii business model. "Downloadable content" is the new "backwards compatibility." For all three console manufacturers now, come to think of it.

One one hand, it's just cashing in. But on the other hand, this way those who actually want to play older games can do so on a newer device, without giving increased size and price of the device for everyone.

One thing I like about the Wii's Virtual Console is that N64 games look better. They run at twice the resolution (640x480 instead of the N64's 320x240). They still look dated, of course, but the graphics are cleaner. I've been having a lot of fun with Super Mario 64 on my Wii.

Just a counterpoint, you can put a Gamecube disc into the Wii and it'll play just fine. Try doing that with any other Nintendo living room console. Any backwards compatibility at all in your living room is new for Nintendo.

All that being said, I don't think the DSi not playing GBA games is that huge of a deal for the large majority of the market. It's not aimed at replacing GBA's, it's aimed at replacing DS's, which it's mostly backwards compatible with.

they kept the ability to play old game boy games for years and years as they brought out new systems.

GBAmicro already lacked support for Gameboy and Gameboy Color titles, DS lacked support for those as well, the DS also lacked the GBA link port, making GBA multiplayer or Gamecube links impossible. So everything after the GBAsp was already crippled and its no surprise that they removed the port on the DSi, since it wastes quite a huge amount of space that likely was needed for the bigger screens, cameras and SD card slot.

I seem to remember we discussed this in the last story about DSi. We ended up reaching a consensus that not everyone needs WPA, and people who do should buy a second AP for Nintendo WFC. Now that 802.11g and pre-n are common, you can find b-only APs at fire sale prices. Turn on 26-digit WEP and MAC whitelisting, turn off the AP when you turn off the DS, and you should be safe.

We ended up reaching a consensus that not everyone needs WPA, and people who do should buy a second AP for Nintendo WFC.

"Consensus"? On Slashdot? [citation needed]

Since I can only speak for myself: WEP is essentially a lock on a screen door at this point - it only keeps out those who make no effort to circumvent it. As it is, my wireless network stays as secure as I can make it with WPA security, and my DS stays disconnected. I have no interest in buying a redundant piece of hardware from Nintendo.

Virtual Portable. Not only downloadable GBA games, but GBC, GB, Gamegear, NeoGeo Pocket, Lynx, etc. That's not a press release, just my own note of an obvious thing for Nintendo to do. Aside from being able to play your GBA games this way, you'd be able to carry all of them with you without carrying/fiddling with any cartridges. Too bad they aren't doing the same with the DS games. Or are they? Or perhaps for new DSi-only games. That's certainly the direction they should be going: all download.

Yes, but if the price is low, I don't think too many would complain. For one thing you are gaining greater portability (no need to carry the cartridges). I don't have a huge collection of GBA games, though. You could always sell the carts and buy the downloads, though.

Guess this is why my local Radio Shack has been selling new DS Lites for 95 bucks for the past few weeks. Since the new one has no GBA slot (and no new features that I really care about), I may have to go grab one on clearance.

The iPhone is even worse. Even the cheapest model (iPod Touch 8 GB) is $229, more expensive than a DS Lite + M3 Real. And there's as much anti-jailbreak cat-and-mouse on an iPhone as there ever was on a PSP. I'd recommend getting in on the next round of Pandora preorders.

One of the driving forces behind the development of the DSi is the rampant piracy in the DS market. You can buy a flash card and 1GB microSD card that'll run copied ROMs for less than $20 these days. I fully expect Nintendo has incorporated some fairly aggressive tech to prevent copying. That's not a bad thing, except that it throws up yet another roadblock for homebrewers. The DS is a capable, affordable and widespread platform that would benefit tremendously from independent development, yet there's no way that Nintendo is every going to let that happen without extracting a pound of flesh through their online download service.

We're officially in a new era in which manufacturers see it as their duty to lock down their portable computers - I hope that the Pandora is a success, although I fear we'll have to wait a few years before a manufacturer comes along and blows the market open with a tiny box that can run third party code without obstruction

It will fall hard just like it has on the Wii.
when will they get it through their heads that they can not win that war?

They are winning that war; its just that their notion of win is different than yours. Nintendo's goal isn't to stop the people who are homebrewing from homebrewing, its to stop the masses from engaging in piracy (make it hard enough that most people either won't understand how to do it, or won't care to spend the time); that their actions give homebrewers some small challenges is just a side effect.

The homebrew community laughs when Nintendo releases an update that breaks homebrew, but then the community has a fix within hours. What the community seems to be missing is that Nintendo hugely stops the proliferation of the explotation of the system every time such an event occurs. Sure your system barely misses a beat, but how many non-tech friends/relatives are you going to set up their system to run homebrew when you know that every month or so they are going to be calling you for help? More to the point, how many non-tech people are going to keep using pirated games when for reasons they can't understand the games stop working every time the system updates?

Palm and Pocket PC have had a pretty thriving casual gaming market for some time. The lack of processer power, and particularly the lack of graphics acceleration, have limited them to casual gaming... but there's no reason that a decent "power user" PDA couldn't blow the market open the way you're thinking.

I'll be honest, I haven't played my GBA games in a while (gasp! zomgshockhorror what sort of nerd is this?!?) and I'm not in the homebrew community (gasps have now been replaced by sounds of fainting from the peanut gallery), so I won't be missing that end of it. And I still have my trusty GBA SP if worse comes to worse, and I don't NEED to trade in my old DS ("DS", hard stop — yes, just the DS, not Lite). And (potentially) finally being able to ditch WEP on my wireless network would be a very nice addition.

And I'd be willing to bet Nintendo will have a way to access the camera from games, leading to all sorts of frivolity and goofiness along the way (members of the peanut gallery are now calling for my head). So I say, bring it on.

When I do play GBA games it's usually on a Game Boy of some kind - most often the Micro. It's more portable than the DS which is real handy sometimes. Plus I think it's just an all-around better experience than booting up a GBA game on the DS, not using the full screen or the full set of controls... Really, once I got a decent collection of DS games going, I found I'd rather play those on the DS.

But even if it was under-utilized, I liked the potential for the GBA slot as hardware expansion. Guitar Hero

...is I could yank the SD out of my DSLR and view the pics easily, one screen for a photo album and the other for a view of the selected photo. but thats just me... a SD slot adds a whole new range of options to this toy. now, is there a decent SDK?

Is it still Opera? Is it the same version as the DS cart + GBA RAM cart? And since Opera needed a GBA RAM cart, does this means the DSi has more internal memory and will this extra memory be accessible to games or only the built-in browser to prevent companies to make "DSi-only" games, cutting off regular DS/DS Lite owners?

Well I am not going to rush out for one of these. I like some GBA games I own and I have Opera for it.A.3 megapixel camera? Big deal.Now If Nintendo included a VIOP and maybe a Video over IP that could be cool.Sort of an Nintendo Phone:)

The original DS came out in 2004, the DS Lite in 2006. Two years for a consumer electronics product is a reasonable cycle. Do you also complain about auto manufacturers producing new models every year?

Do you also complain about auto manufacturers producing new models every year?

I do because they produce new cars that aren't much better than the year before, then asked to be bailed out to the tune of $25 billion because [usnews.com] nobody wants them.

They'll probably use that money to build a factory or two overseas, then use the rest to pay off some bank loans. Meanwhile, we borrowed that $25 billion from the FED at interest who creates it from nothing and the taxpayers are on the hook for it.

It doesn't take much extra effort for the automakers to put out a new model each year. They mostly change cosmetic things: bumpers, headlights, grills, fenders, dashboards. The guts of the car are the same until they change the platform, every five years or so. The yearly model thing is pretty much entirely for the psychological effect on buyers. It makes you feel like you're getting something special that nobody else has yet, or it makes you feel that your mechanically-fine vehicle is out of date and y

Someone above said something about how this new product will stand independent of the DS (at least for now). That makes sense as it mitigates the problems with releasing a new system too early. But at the same time, it means Nintendo will have different levels of DS and that doesn't sound like a standard strategy of theirs.

A lot of people watch older movies because the limitations forced their directors to focus on things like plot and character development instead of whizbang special effects. The same is true for games. There are many great games that are forced to excel in other areas like gameplay, atmosphere, etc. simply because of the hardware limitations.

"But there's no way to compare old games with worse graphics to black and white movies. Black and white movies have real benefits over color movies, technical, e.g. contrast range, and cinematic. People perceive pictures differently when they're black and white."

I'm pretty sure that the GP was talking about the rash of B&W classics that are being re-made in color. Generally speaking, older black and whites have no technical benefits over modern color (due to improvements in film technology) and if the a

Theoretically camera can be used for camera-games, or "augmented reality" games. However if DSi use the same 67Mhz+33Mhz CPUs it would be highly difficult to squeeze non-trivial markerless or multimarker tracking into device. Simple ARToolkit-stile tracking still possible though even with those CPUs.

Yeah, the possibility of downloadable "DSWare" on this thing is the one part of the whole deal that's really attractive. I don't care about MP3 playing or a crappy VGA-resolution camera (ugh), and the fact that homebrew may not work on the thing is unappealing... But downloadable titles? Hell yeah... On the Wii I've been playing tons of Dr. Mario online and Mega Man 9, and eyeing the new Bomberman online - having that kind of stuff on the DS would rock.